Wireless communications between vehicles

ABSTRACT

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques relating to wireless communications between vehicles. In certain aspects, a method performed by a first vehicle comprises receiving an indication from a second vehicle comprising surrounding information that is indicative of whether a first unknown vehicle is detected by the second vehicle, wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle are able to communicate wirelessly, and wherein the first unknown vehicle is unable to communicate wirelessly with the first and the second vehicles. The method further comprises controlling movement of the first vehicle based on the indication.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ApplicationSer. No. 62/675,297 entitled “WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN VEHICLES,”which was filed May 23, 2018. The aforementioned application is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, andmore particularly, to techniques relating to wireless communicationsbetween vehicles.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,broadcasts, etc. These wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth,transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-access systems include3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE)systems, LTE Advanced (LTE-A) systems, code division multiple access(CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous codedivision multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name a few.

In some examples, a wireless multiple-access communication system mayinclude a number of base stations (BSs), which are each capable ofsimultaneously supporting communication for multiple communicationdevices, otherwise known as user equipments (UEs). In an LTE or LTE-Anetwork, a set of one or more base stations may define an eNodeB (eNB).In other examples (e.g., in a next generation, a new radio (NR), or 5Gnetwork), a wireless multiple access communication system may include anumber of distributed units (DUs) (e.g., edge units (EUs), edge nodes(ENs), radio heads (RHs), smart radio heads (SRHs), transmissionreception points (TRPs), etc.) in communication with a number of centralunits (CUs) (e.g., central nodes (CNs), access node controllers (ANCs),etc.), where a set of one or more distributed units, in communicationwith a central unit, may define an access node (e.g., which may bereferred to as a base station, 5G NB, next generation NodeB (gNB orgNodeB), TRP, etc.). A base station or distributed unit may communicatewith a set of UEs on downlink channels (e.g., for transmissions from abase station or to a UE) and uplink channels (e.g., for transmissionsfrom a UE to a base station or distributed unit).

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G) is an exampleof an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is a set of enhancementsto the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. It is designed to bettersupport mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectralefficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of newspectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using OFDMAwith a cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and on the uplink (UL).To these ends, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation. However, as thedemand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, there exists aneed for further improvements in NR and LTE technology. Preferably,these improvements should be applicable to other multi-accesstechnologies and the telecommunication standards that employ thesetechnologies.

Such technologies have been applied to enable wireless communicationservices in vehicles (e.g., wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles(motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses), railed vehicles (trains, trams),watercraft (ships, boats), aircraft, spacecraft, etc.). In fact, a“connected vehicle” is already a mainstream reality. In some casesvehicles can communicate with each other, which is commonly referred toas vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communications. In such cases, V2Vcommunications may involve sharing of sensor information (such ascamera, radar, or other sensor information) between vehicles which mayhelp promote safety or enhance traffic flow. The potentially high numberof vehicles involved in V2V and the high mobility of such vehiclespresents challenges.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have severalaspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirableattributes. Without limiting the scope of this disclosure as expressedby the claims which follow, some features will now be discussed briefly.After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading thesection entitled “Detailed Description” one will understand how thefeatures of this disclosure provide advantages that include improvedcommunications between access points and stations in a wireless network.

Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication performed bya first vehicle. The method generally includes receiving an indicationfrom a second vehicle comprising surrounding information that isindicative of whether a first unknown vehicle is detected by the secondvehicle, wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle are able tocommunicate wirelessly, and wherein the first unknown vehicle is unableto communicate wirelessly with the first and the second vehicles. Themethod further includes controlling movement of the first vehicle basedon the indication.

Certain aspects provide first vehicle, comprising a non-transitorymemory comprising executable instructions and a processor in datacommunication with the memory and configured to execute the instructionsto cause the first vehicle to receive an indication from a secondvehicle comprising surrounding information that is indicative of whethera first unknown vehicle is detected by the second vehicle, wherein thefirst vehicle and the second vehicle are able to communicate wirelessly,and wherein the first unknown vehicle is unable to communicatewirelessly with the first and the second vehicles, and control movementof the first vehicle based on the indication.

Certain aspects provide a first vehicle comprising means for receivingan indication from a second vehicle comprising surrounding informationthat is indicative of whether a first unknown vehicle is detected by thesecond vehicle, wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle areable to communicate wirelessly, and wherein the first unknown vehicle isunable to communicate wirelessly with the first and the second vehicles,and means for controlling movement of the first vehicle based on theindication.

Certain aspects provide a non-transitory computer readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon that, when executed by a first vehicle,cause the first vehicle to perform a method comprising receiving anindication from a second vehicle comprising surrounding information thatis indicative of whether a first unknown vehicle is detected by thesecond vehicle, wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle areable to communicate wirelessly, and wherein the first unknown vehicle isunable to communicate wirelessly with the first and the second vehicles,and controlling movement of the first vehicle based on the indication.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe appended drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description,briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some ofwhich are illustrated in the drawings. It is to be noted, however, thatthe appended drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of thisdisclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope,for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an exampletelecommunications system, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example logical architectureof a distributed radio access network (RAN), in accordance with certainaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example physical architecture of adistributed RAN, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a design of anexample base station (BS) and user equipment (UE), in accordance withcertain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing examples for implementing a communicationprotocol stack, in accordance with certain aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a frame format for a new radio (NR)system, in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates two vehicle-to-everything (V2X) vehicles and onenon-V2X vehicle approaching an intersection, in accordance with certainaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates two V2X vehicles and graphical representations of theV2X vehicles' estimated time of arrival (ETA) and estimated time ofpassing in relation to an intersection, in accordance with certainaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a V2X vehicle and a number of anchor V2X vehicles, inaccordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a blind area of a V2X vehicle and detection rangesof a number of other V2X vehicles, in accordance with certain aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates example operations for wireless communicationsperformed by a vehicle, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a blind area of a V2X vehicle and detection rangesof another V2X vehicle, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a communications device that may include variouscomponents configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosedherein, such as one or more of the operations illustrated in FIG. 11.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspectmay be beneficially utilized on other aspects without specificrecitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processingsystems, and computer readable mediums relating to wirelesscommunications between vehicles. As further described below, wirelesscommunication technologies have been applied to enable wirelesscommunication services in vehicles. For example, a type of wirelesscommunication, referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication,refers to the communication of information from a vehicle to any entityand vice versa. A V2X vehicle is able to share information about itself,such as its presence, location, direction, speed, etc. with other V2Xvehicles. As V2X vehicles are still in their infancy stages, however,there are many vehicles that are not V2X-enabled (referred to as“non-V2X vehicles”) and, therefore, are not able to communicatewirelessly with V2X vehicles. Therefore, a V2X vehicle may also beequipped with one or more sensors (e.g., radar, camera, light detectionand ranging (LIDAR), etc.) to detect other vehicles (including non-V2Xvehicles) in its vicinity.

However, in certain situations, a V2X vehicle may not detect a non-V2Xvehicle in its vicinity. For example, in situations where a non-V2Xvehicle is not within range of sensors of a V2X vehicle (e.g., it is toofar, it is blocked by a structure, etc.), the V2X vehicle may not beable to detect the presence, speed, and/or location of the non-V2Xvehicle. Accordingly, certain aspects described herein relate toenabling a V2X vehicle to adapt its driving based on surroundinginformation received about another vehicle (e.g., a non-V2X vehicle, aV2X vehicle unable to communicate temporarily, etc.) detected by one ormore sensors of another V2X vehicle from the other V2X vehicle. Forexample, in certain aspects, a first V2X vehicle adapts its driving(e.g., speed, direction, etc.) based on surrounding information receivedfrom a second V2X vehicle, the surrounding information indicatingwhether another vehicle (e.g., a non-V2X vehicle) has been detected ornot.

The following description provides examples, and is not limiting of thescope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements discussed withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit,substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. Forinstance, the methods described may be performed in an order differentfrom that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, orcombined. Also, features described with respect to some examples may becombined in some other examples. For example, an apparatus may beimplemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspectsset forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intendedto cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to,or other than, the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein.It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosedherein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim. The word“exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, orillustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is notnecessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otheraspects.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunication technologies, such as LTE, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA,SC-FDMA and other networks. The terms “network” and “system” are oftenused interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio technologysuch as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRAincludes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implementa radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as NR(e.g. 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRAand E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS).

New Radio (NR) is an emerging wireless communications technology underdevelopment in conjunction with the 5G Technology Forum (5GTF). 3GPPLong Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are releases of UMTSthat use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and GSM are described indocuments from an organization named “3rd Generation PartnershipProject” (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from anorganization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). Thetechniques described herein may be used for the wireless networks andradio technologies mentioned above as well as other wireless networksand radio technologies. For clarity, while aspects may be describedherein using terminology commonly associated with 3G and/or 4G wirelesstechnologies, aspects of the present disclosure can be applied in othergeneration-based communication systems, such as 5G and later, includingNR technologies.

New radio (NR) access (e.g., 5G technology) may support various wirelesscommunication services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)targeting wide bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or beyond), millimeter wave (mmW)targeting high carrier frequency (e.g., 25 GHz or beyond), massivemachine type communications MTC (mMTC) targeting non-backward compatibleMTC techniques, and/or mission critical targeting ultra-reliablelow-latency communications (URLLC). These services may include latencyand reliability requirements. These services may also have differenttransmission time intervals (TTI) to meet respective quality of service(QoS) requirements. In addition, these services may co-exist in the samesubframe.

Example Wireless Communications System

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network 100 inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. For example,the wireless communication network 100 may be a New Radio (NR) or 5Gnetwork. Also, the components of UE 120 of FIG. 1 may perform operations1100 of FIG. 11.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the wireless network 100 may include a numberof base stations (BSs) 110 and other network entities. A BS may be astation that communicates with user equipments (UEs). Each BS 110 mayprovide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a Node B (NB)and/or a Node B subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on thecontext in which the term is used. In NR systems, the term “cell” andnext generation NodeB (gNB), new radio base station (NR BS), 5G NB,access point (AP), or transmission reception point (TRP) may beinterchangeable. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily bestationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according tothe location of a mobile BS. In some examples, the base stations may beinterconnected to one another and/or to one or more other base stationsor network nodes (not shown) in wireless communication network 100through various types of backhaul interfaces, such as a direct physicalconnection, a wireless connection, a virtual network, or the like usingany suitable transport network.

In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a givengeographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular radioaccess technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. ARAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface,etc. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, a subcarrier, afrequency channel, a tone, a subband, etc. Each frequency may support asingle RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interferencebetween wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RATnetworks may be deployed.

A base station (BS) may provide communication coverage for a macro cell,a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other types of cells. A macro cell maycover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers inradius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with servicesubscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic areaand may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. Afemto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home)and may allow restricted access by UEs having an association with thefemto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs for usersin the home, etc.). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macroBS. ABS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. ABS for a femtocell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shownin FIG. 1, the BSs 110 a, 110 b and 110 c may be macro BSs for the macrocells 102 a, 102 b and 102 c, respectively. The BS 110 x may be a picoBS for a pico cell 102 x. The BSs 110 y and 110 z may be femto BSs forthe femto cells 102 y and 102 z, respectively. A BS may support one ormultiple (e.g., three) cells.

Wireless communication network 100 may also include relay stations. Arelay station is a station that receives a transmission of data and/orother information from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) andsends a transmission of the data and/or other information to adownstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be aUE that relays transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown in FIG.1, a relay station 110 r may communicate with the BS 110 a and a UE 120r in order to facilitate communication between the BS 110 a and the UE120 r. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay,etc.

Wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs ofdifferent types, e.g., macro BS, pico BS, femto BS, relays, etc. Thesedifferent types of BSs may have different transmit power levels,different coverage areas, and different impact on interference in thewireless network 100. For example, macro BS may have a high transmitpower level (e.g., 20 Watts) whereas pico BS, femto BS, and relays mayhave a lower transmit power level (e.g., 1 Watt).

Wireless communication network 100 may support synchronous orasynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the BSs may havesimilar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may beapproximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the BSs mayhave different frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs maynot be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used forboth synchronous and asynchronous operation.

A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs and providecoordination and control for these BSs. The network controller 130 maycommunicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The BSs 110 may alsocommunicate with one another (e.g., directly or indirectly) via wirelessor wireline backhaul.

The UEs 120 (e.g., 120 x, 120 y, etc.) may be dispersed throughout thewireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE mayalso be referred to as a mobile station, a terminal, an access terminal,a subscriber unit, a station, a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), acellular phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, alaptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station,a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, anultrabook, an appliance, a medical device or medical equipment, abiometric sensor/device, a wearable device such as a smart watch, smartclothing, smart glasses, a smart wrist band, smart jewelry (e.g., asmart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainment device (e.g., amusic device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), a vehicularcomponent or sensor, a smart meter/sensor, industrial manufacturingequipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitabledevice that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) devices orevolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example,robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, locationtags, etc., that may communicate with a BS, another device (e.g., remotedevice), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide, for example,connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such asInternet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communicationlink. Some UEs may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, whichmay be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

Certain wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrierfrequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDMpartition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers,which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarriermay be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent inthe frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. Thespacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total numberof subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. Forexample, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15 kHz and the minimumresource allocation (called a “resource block” (RB)) may be 12subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal Fast FourierTransfer (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024 or 2048 forsystem bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz),respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned intosubbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resourceblocks), and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for systembandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 or 20 MHz, respectively.

While aspects of the examples described herein may be associated withLTE technologies, aspects of the present disclosure may be applicablewith other wireless communications systems, such as NR. NR may utilizeOFDM with a CP on the uplink and downlink and include support forhalf-duplex operation using TDD. Beamforming may be supported and beamdirection may be dynamically configured. MIMO transmissions withprecoding may also be supported. MIMO configurations in the DL maysupport up to 8 transmit antennas with multi-layer DL transmissions upto 8 streams and up to 2 streams per UE. Multi-layer transmissions withup to 2 streams per UE may be supported. Aggregation of multiple cellsmay be supported with up to 8 serving cells.

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, whereina. A scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) allocates resources forcommunication among some or all devices and equipment within its servicearea or cell. The scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling,assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or moresubordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communication, subordinateentities utilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity. Basestations are not the only entities that may function as a schedulingentity. In some examples, a UE may function as a scheduling entity andmay schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., oneor more other UEs), and the other UEs may utilize the resourcesscheduled by the UE for wireless communication. In some examples, a UEmay function as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network,and/or in a mesh network. In a mesh network example, UEs may communicatedirectly with one another in addition to communicating with a schedulingentity.

In FIG. 1, a solid line with double arrows indicates desiredtransmissions between a UE and a serving BS, which is a BS designated toserve the UE on the downlink and/or uplink. A finely dashed line withdouble arrows indicates interfering transmissions between a UE and a BS.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example logical architecture of a distributedRadio Access Network (RAN) 200, which may be implemented in the wirelesscommunication network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. A 5G access node 206may include an access node controller (ANC) 202. ANC 202 may be acentral unit (CU) of the distributed RAN 200. The backhaul interface tothe Next Generation Core Network (NG-CN) 204 may terminate at ANC 202.The backhaul interface to neighboring next generation access Nodes(NG-ANs) 210 may terminate at ANC 202. ANC 202 may include one or moretransmission reception points (TRPs) 208 (e.g., cells, BSs, gNBs, etc.).

The TRPs 208 may be a distributed unit (DU). TRPs 208 may be connectedto a single ANC (e.g., ANC 202) or more than one ANC (not illustrated).For example, for RAN sharing, radio as a service (RaaS), and servicespecific AND deployments, TRPs 208 may be connected to more than oneANC. TRPs 208 may each include one or more antenna ports. TRPs 208 maybe configured to individually (e.g., dynamic selection) or jointly(e.g., joint transmission) serve traffic to a UE.

The logical architecture of distributed RAN 200 may support fronthaulingsolutions across different deployment types. For example, the logicalarchitecture may be based on transmit network capabilities (e.g.,bandwidth, latency, and/or jitter).

The logical architecture of distributed RAN 200 may share featuresand/or components with LTE. For example, next generation access node(NG-AN) 210 may support dual connectivity with NR and may share a commonfronthaul for LTE and NR.

The logical architecture of distributed RAN 200 may enable cooperationbetween and among TRPs 208, for example, within a TRP and/or across TRPsvia ANC 202. An inter-TRP interface may not be used.

Logical functions may be dynamically distributed in the logicalarchitecture of distributed RAN 200. As will be described in more detailwith reference to FIG. 5, the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, PacketData Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer,Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layers may beadaptably placed at the DU (e.g., TRP 208) or CU (e.g., ANC 202).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example physical architecture of a distributedRadio Access Network (RAN) 300, according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. A centralized core network unit (C-CU) 302 may host corenetwork functions. C-CU 302 may be centrally deployed. C-CU 302functionality may be offloaded (e.g., to advanced wireless services(AWS)), in an effort to handle peak capacity.

A centralized RAN unit (C-RU) 304 may host one or more ANC functions.Optionally, the C-RU 304 may host core network functions locally. TheC-RU 304 may have distributed deployment. The C-RU 304 may be close tothe network edge.

A DU 306 may host one or more TRPs (Edge Node (EN), an Edge Unit (EU), aRadio Head (RH), a Smart Radio Head (SRH), or the like). The DU may belocated at edges of the network with radio frequency (RF) functionality.

FIG. 4 illustrates example components of BS 110 and UE 120 (as depictedin FIG. 1), which may be used to implement aspects of the presentdisclosure. For example, antennas 452, processors 466, 458, 464, and/orcontroller/processor 480 of the UE 120 and/or antennas 434, processors420, 460, 438, and/or controller/processor 440 of the BS 110 may be usedto enable/perform the various techniques and methods described herein.

At the BS 110, a transmit processor 420 may receive data from a datasource 412 and control information from a controller/processor 440. Thecontrol information may be for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH),physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical hybrid ARQindicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data may be for the physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor 420 may process(e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtaindata symbols and control symbols, respectively. The processor 420 mayalso generate reference symbols, e.g., for the primary synchronizationsignal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and cell-specificreference signal (CRS). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) processor 430 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) onthe data symbols, the control symbols, and/or the reference symbols, ifapplicable, and may provide output symbol streams to the modulators(MODs) 432 a through 432 t. Each modulator 432 may process a respectiveoutput symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output samplestream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog,amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain adownlink signal. Downlink signals from modulators 432 a through 432 tmay be transmitted via the antennas 434 a through 434 t, respectively.

At the UE 120, the antennas 452 a through 452 r may receive the downlinksignals from the base station 110 and may provide received signals tothe demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 454 a through 454 r,respectively. Each demodulator 454 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify,downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain inputsamples. Each demodulator may further process the input samples (e.g.,for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 456 mayobtain received symbols from all the demodulators 454 a through 454 r,perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, andprovide detected symbols. A receive processor 458 may process (e.g.,demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, providedecoded data for the UE 120 to a data sink 460, and provide decodedcontrol information to a controller/processor 480.

On the uplink, at UE 120, a transmit processor 464 may receive andprocess data (e.g., for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) froma data source 462 and control information (e.g., for the physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH) from the controller/processor 480. The transmitprocessor 464 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal(e.g., for the sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from thetransmit processor 464 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 466 ifapplicable, further processed by the demodulators in transceivers 454 athrough 454 r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the basestation 110. At the BS 110, the uplink signals from the UE 120 may bereceived by the antennas 434, processed by the modulators 432, detectedby a MIMO detector 436 if applicable, and further processed by a receiveprocessor 438 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by theUE 120. The receive processor 438 may provide the decoded data to a datasink 439 and the decoded control information to the controller/processor440.

The controllers/processors 440 and 480 may direct the operation at thebase station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. The processor 440 and/orother processors and modules at the BS 110 may perform or direct theexecution of processes for the techniques described herein. Also, theprocessor 480 and/or other processors and modules at the UE 120 mayperform or direct the execution of processes for the techniquesdescribed herein (e.g., operations 1100 of FIG. 11). The memories 442and 482 may store data and program codes for BS 110 and UE 120,respectively. A scheduler 444 may schedule UEs for data transmission onthe downlink and/or uplink.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram 500 showing examples for implementing acommunications protocol stack, according to aspects of the presentdisclosure. The illustrated communications protocol stacks may beimplemented by devices operating in a wireless communication system,such as a 5G system (e.g., a system that supports uplink-basedmobility). Diagram 500 illustrates a communications protocol stackincluding a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer 510, a Packet DataConvergence Protocol (PDCP) layer 515, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer520, a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer 525, and a Physical (PHY) layer530. In various examples, the layers of a protocol stack may beimplemented as separate modules of software, portions of a processor orASIC, portions of non-collocated devices connected by a communicationslink, or various combinations thereof. Collocated and non-collocatedimplementations may be used, for example, in a protocol stack for anetwork access device (e.g., ANs, CUs, and/or DUs) or a UE.

A first option 505-a shows a split implementation of a protocol stack,in which implementation of the protocol stack is split between acentralized network access device (e.g., an ANC 202 in FIG. 2) anddistributed network access device (e.g., DU 208 in FIG. 2). In the firstoption 505-a, an RRC layer 510 and a PDCP layer 515 may be implementedby the central unit, and an RLC layer 520, a MAC layer 525, and a PHYlayer 530 may be implemented by the DU. In various examples the CU andthe DU may be collocated or non-collocated. The first option 505-a maybe useful in a macro cell, micro cell, or pico cell deployment.

A second option 505-b shows a unified implementation of a protocolstack, in which the protocol stack is implemented in a single networkaccess device. In the second option, RRC layer 510, PDCP layer 515, RLClayer 520, MAC layer 525, and PHY layer 530 may each be implemented bythe AN. The second option 505-b may be useful in, for example, a femtocell deployment.

Regardless of whether a network access device implements part or all ofa protocol stack, a UE may implement an entire protocol stack as shownin 505-c (e.g., the RRC layer 510, the PDCP layer 515, the RLC layer520, the MAC layer 525, and the PHY layer 530).

In LTE, the basic transmission time interval (TTI) or packet duration isthe 1 ms subframe. In NR, a subframe is still 1 ms, but the basic TTI isreferred to as a slot. A subframe contains a variable number of slots(e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, . . . slots) depending on the subcarrier spacing.The NR RB is 12 consecutive frequency subcarriers. NR may support a basesubcarrier spacing of 15 KHz and other subcarrier spacing may be definedwith respect to the base subcarrier spacing, for example, 30 kHz, 60kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc. The symbol and slot lengths scale with thesubcarrier spacing. The CP length also depends on the subcarrierspacing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a frame format 600 for NR. Thetransmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may bepartitioned into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have apredetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be partitioned into 10subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices of 0 through 9. Each subframe mayinclude a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing.Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The symbol periods in eachslot may be assigned indices. A mini-slot is a subslot structure (e.g.,2, 3, or 4 symbols).

Each symbol in a slot may indicate a link direction (e.g., DL, UL, orflexible) for data transmission and the link direction for each subframemay be dynamically switched. The link directions may be based on theslot format. Each slot may include DL/UL data as well as DL/UL controlinformation.

In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block is transmitted. The SS blockincludes a PSS, a SSS, and a two symbol PBCH. The SS block can betransmitted in a fixed slot location, such as the symbols 0-3 as shownin FIG. 6. The PSS and SSS may be used by UEs for cell search andacquisition. The PSS may provide half-frame timing, the SS may providethe CP length and frame timing. The PSS and SSS may provide the cellidentity. The PBCH carries some basic system information, such asdownlink system bandwidth, timing information within radio frame, SSburst set periodicity, system frame number, etc. The SS blocks may beorganized into SS bursts to support beam sweeping. Further systeminformation such as, remaining minimum system information (RMSI), systeminformation blocks (SIBs), other system information (OSI) can betransmitted on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in certainsubframes.

In some circumstances, two or more subordinate entities (e.g., UEs) maycommunicate with each other using sidelink signals. Real-worldapplications of such sidelink communications may include public safety,proximity services, UE-to-network relaying, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communications, Internet of Everything (IoE) communications, IoTcommunications, mission-critical mesh, and/or various other suitableapplications. Generally, a sidelink signal may refer to a signalcommunicated from one subordinate entity (e.g., UE1) to anothersubordinate entity (e.g., UE2) without relaying that communicationthrough the scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS), even though thescheduling entity may be utilized for scheduling and/or controlpurposes. In some examples, the sidelink signals may be communicatedusing a licensed spectrum (unlike wireless local area networks, whichtypically use an unlicensed spectrum).

A UE may operate in various radio resource configurations, including aconfiguration associated with transmitting pilots using a dedicated setof resources (e.g., a radio resource control (RRC) dedicated state,etc.) or a configuration associated with transmitting pilots using acommon set of resources (e.g., an RRC common state, etc.). Whenoperating in the RRC dedicated state, the UE may select a dedicated setof resources for transmitting a pilot signal to a network. Whenoperating in the RRC common state, the UE may select a common set ofresources for transmitting a pilot signal to the network. In eithercase, a pilot signal transmitted by the UE may be received by one ormore network access devices, such as an AN, or a DU, or portionsthereof. Each receiving network access device may be configured toreceive and measure pilot signals transmitted on the common set ofresources, and also receive and measure pilot signals transmitted ondedicated sets of resources allocated to the UEs for which the networkaccess device is a member of a monitoring set of network access devicesfor the UE. One or more of the receiving network access devices, or a CUto which receiving network access device(s) transmit the measurements ofthe pilot signals, may use the measurements to identify serving cellsfor the UEs, or to initiate a change of serving cell for one or more ofthe UEs.

Example of Wireless Communications Between Vehicles

As discussed, wireless communication technologies have been applied toenable wireless communication services in vehicles. For example, a typeof wireless communication, referred to as vehicle-to-everything (V2X)communication, refers to the communication of information from a vehicleto any entity and vice versa. V2X communication may comprise other morespecific types of vehicular communication, such asvehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V),vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), vehicle-to-device (V2D), andvehicle-to-grid (vehicle-to-grid). Vehicles that support V2Xcommunication may be referred to as V2X-enabled vehicles or V2Xvehicles. A V2X vehicle is able to share information about itself, suchas its presence, location, direction, speed, etc. with other V2Xvehicles. Such communications between V2X vehicles increases safety andefficiency by allowing the V2X vehicles to coordinate and plan drivingpaths along roadways/streets. For example, V2X vehicles may beautonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles that use communications withother V2X vehicles to adapt how they drive/control movement of the V2Xvehicle (e.g., accelerate, decelerate, brake, turn, etc.). As anexample, a V2X vehicle that is approaching an intersection maycommunicate its location and speed to another V2X vehicle that is alsoapproaching the intersection but traveling on a different cross street.This communication allows the V2X vehicles to coordinate such that bothvehicles can safely pass the intersection, such as without stopping.

As V2X vehicles are still in their infancy stages, however, there aremany vehicles that are not V2X-enabled (referred to as “non-V2Xvehicles”) and, therefore, are not able to communicate wirelessly withV2X vehicles. Therefore, V2X vehicles may not be able to coordinate withall other vehicles.

Accordingly, a V2X vehicle may also be equipped with one or more sensors(e.g., radar, camera, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), etc.) todetect other vehicles (including non-V2X vehicles) in the vicinity(e.g., range of 70 to 200 meters) of the V2X vehicle. The V2X vehiclemay utilize the one or more sensors to determine surrounding informationincluding a presence, speed, direction, and/or location of othervehicles, such as a non-V2X vehicle. The V2X vehicle may further utilizemeasurements from the one or more sensors to calculate surroundinginformation such as an estimated time of arrival (ETA) (e.g., time whenthe vehicle first reaches an intersection) or estimated time of passing(ETP) of a non-V2X vehicle. In some aspects, the ETP may refer to a timeat which a vehicle first clears or passes the middle of an intersectionwhile passing through the intersection. In some aspects, the ETP mayrefer to a time at which a vehicle first passes the entire intersectionwhile passing through the intersection. In certain aspects, passingthrough an intersection may include making a left turn, a right turn, orgoing straight, for example, after entering the intersection or clearingthe middle of the intersection.

In certain situations, a V2X vehicle may not detect a non-V2X vehicle inthe vicinity of the V2X vehicle. For example, in situations where anon-V2X vehicle is not within range of sensors of a V2X vehicle (e.g.,it is too far, it is blocked by a structure, etc.), the V2X vehicle maynot be able to detect the presence, speed, and/or location of thenon-V2X vehicle. Accordingly, the V2X vehicle may not be able to adaptto the non-V2X vehicle. For example, if the V2X vehicle is coming to anintersection, it may not, prior to arriving at the intersection, be ableto determine if another non-V2X vehicle is within its path, and may stopat the intersection in order to avoid a potential collision with anundetected non-V2X vehicle. An example of such a situation is shown inFIG. 7.

FIG. 7 illustrates an intersection 702 where streets 704 and 706 crosseach other. FIG. 7 also shows V2X vehicles A and B as well as a non-V2Xvehicle C. As discussed, V2X vehicles A and B may communicate theirinformation with each other, such as to coordinate their ETA(s) atintersection 702 and/or ETP(s) of the intersection 702. Utilizing suchinformation, V2X vehicles A and B may be able to adapt to one anothersuch as to pass intersection 702 without stopping and without collidingwith each other. In contrast to vehicle B, in the example of FIG. 7,vehicle C is a non-V2X vehicle and therefore vehicle A may not able tocommunicate with vehicle C to adapt to vehicle C.

As shown, vehicle C is approaching intersection 702 from street 706while vehicle A is approaching intersection 702 from street 704. Eventhough vehicles A and C are not able to communicate, if vehicle A isable to detect vehicle C such as its location and speed, vehicle A maybe able to estimate vehicle C's ETA and/or ETP at intersection 702.Accordingly, vehicle A can adapt its driving (e.g., adjust its ownspeed) so that the ETA and/or ETP of vehicle A allows vehicle A to passintersection 702 without stopping. However, as discussed, vehicle C maynot be detectable by vehicle A, in which case vehicle A cannot adapt tovehicle C. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, structures 708 may blockvehicle A's sensors (e.g., line of sight (LOS)) and prevent them fromdetecting any vehicles (e.g., vehicle C) on the left side (orientationbased on the figure shown) of street 706. In such an example, vehicle Amay determine that it is safer to stop at intersection 702 to avoid apotential collision with a potential vehicle, such as vehicle C, that istraveling on street 706 and approaching intersection 702. Stopping atintersection 702 may, however, be inefficient for vehicle A because itcauses a delay in vehicle A's trip.

Accordingly, certain aspects described herein relate to enabling a V2Xvehicle (e.g., vehicle A) to adapt its driving based on surroundinginformation about another vehicle (e.g., vehicle C, a non-V2X vehicle, aV2X vehicle unable to communicate temporarily, etc.), where thesurrounding information is received from and detected by one or moresensors of another V2X vehicle (e.g., vehicle B). Though certain aspectsare described herein with respect to a first V2X vehicle receivingsurrounding information about another vehicle (e.g., a non-V2X vehicle)detected by sensors of a second V2X vehicle and the first V2X vehicleadapting its driving based thereon, it should be noted such techniquesmay be applicable to the first V2X vehicle receiving surroundinginformation about any number of vehicles detected by sensors of anynumber of V2X vehicles and from any number of V2X vehicles and adaptingits driving based thereon.

In the example of FIG. 7, vehicle C may be seen and/or detected by a V2Xvehicle ahead of vehicle C (e.g., traveling on street 706 in front ofvehicle C in the same direction), behind vehicle C (e.g., traveling onstreet 706 behind vehicle C in the same direction), approachingintersection 702 from the opposite direction (e.g., vehicle B), orapproaching intersection 702 from the opposite direction as vehicle A.In such an example, a V2X vehicle that is in one of the above mentionedsituations may be able to detect vehicle C using one or more sensors.The V2X vehicle may further determine vehicle C is an unknown vehicle(e.g., a non-V2X vehicle, a V2X vehicle unable to communicatetemporarily, etc.), based on, for example, not receiving anycommunications from vehicle C (e.g., by searching communicationsrecords/logs stored at V2X vehicle for communication from vehicle C).The V2X vehicle may then communicate surrounding information aboutvehicle C to other V2X vehicles (e.g., vehicle A), so that the other V2Xvehicles, which are not able to detect vehicle C, can receivesurrounding information about vehicle C. For example, in FIG. 7, vehicleB is approaching intersection 702 from the opposite direction of vehicleC and is able to detect vehicle C. After detecting vehicle C, vehicle Bdetermines vehicle C is an unknown vehicle and communicates surroundinginformation about vehicle C to other V2X vehicles (e.g., vehicle A).

In certain aspects, unknown vehicles generally have certaincharacteristics that help V2X vehicles designate such unknown vehiclesas unknown. For example, an unknown vehicle may stop at an intersectionbefore passing the intersection. In such an example, a V2X vehicle maydetect a vehicle that is stopping at an intersection and search throughits communications record to find a message or announcement from avehicle indicating that the vehicle is stopping at the intersection.Upon finding no such message, the V2X vehicle may determine that thevehicle stopping at the intersection is an unknown vehicle.

In some aspects, a stopped unknown vehicle can be detected by all “head”V2X vehicles in every lane, meaning all V2X vehicles approaching anintersection without another vehicle in front of them before theintersection. In some aspects, an unknown vehicle that is stopped at anintersection is detected by all V2X vehicles in its vicinity, providedthe V2X vehicles close to the intersection are equipped with one or moresensors that enable the V2X vehicles to detect non-V2X vehicles andmonitor the intersection area. In some aspects, the speed of anyvehicles (including unknown vehicles) passing an intersection may bedeterminable by other V2X vehicles in the vicinity. In addition, once avehicle enters an intersection, other V2X vehicles may be able tocalculate how long it takes for the vehicle to pass the intersection(e.g., ETP). The V2X vehicles may then share such surroundinginformation about other vehicles to other V2X vehicles to be used toadapt driving.

As described above, a V2X vehicle may periodically broadcast itsinformation, such as location and speed, to other V2X vehicles. Inaddition, once a V2X vehicle detects an unknown vehicle, in someaspects, the V2X vehicle may broadcast certain surrounding informationabout the unknown vehicle. In some aspects, the surrounding informationincludes only an indication about the existence of the unknown vehiclein addition to its direction and/or lane of travel. In some aspects, thesurrounding information may also include the unknown vehicle's locationand speed, which may be determined based on measurements and/orestimations. In some aspects, the surrounding information includesadditional information about the unknown vehicle, as discussed.

In the example of FIG. 7, vehicle B is a V2X vehicle that mayperiodically broadcast its information to vehicle A and vice versa. Insome aspects, once vehicle B detects vehicle C and determines that it isan unknown vehicle, vehicle B may broadcast surrounding informationabout vehicle C, which may include vehicle C's existence, directionand/or lane or other information about vehicle C. In addition to vehicleC's existence, direction, and/or lane, in some aspects, vehicle B mayalso determine and broadcast vehicle C's location and speed as part ofthe surrounding information. In some aspects, vehicle B may beconfigured to periodically broadcast the surrounding information evenafter it has passed intersection 702 (e.g., even when it is in theoutbound lane on street 706) for the benefit of other V2X vehicles eventhough vehicle C may no longer impact the driving adaptation of vehicleB. In some aspects, vehicle B may calculate the ETA/ETP of vehicle Citself and broadcast such information as surrounding information. Insome aspects, other vehicles may calculate the ETA/ETP of vehicle Cbased on other surrounding information broadcast by vehicle B.

Based on the surrounding information received from vehicle B, vehicle Amay adapt its driving. For example, vehicle A may determine whether itis possible to coordinate and adjust its ETA and ETP in order to ensurethat vehicle A can pass intersection 702 without stopping. In someaspects, to make such a determination, vehicle A may take into accountthe surrounding information received relating to one or more unknownvehicles (e.g., vehicle C) as well as the ETA/ETP of all the V2Xvehicles (e.g., vehicle B) approaching intersection 702.

For example, in FIG. 7, vehicle B may periodically broadcast its ETA/ETPto vehicle A. In some aspects, the ETA and ETP may be announced inabsolute times. For example, vehicle B may broadcast it has a 1:00 pmETA at intersection 702 and a 1:05 ETP. In other words, instead ofindicating that vehicle B's ETA at intersection 702 in a certain numberof seconds (e.g., 15 seconds), a certain absolute time may be used toindicate the ETA. Absolute times may be used to avoid any messagetransmission delay, which may cause vehicle A to determine an inaccurateETA for vehicle B based on the number of seconds indicated in themessage. For example, vehicles may be synchronized to the same time,such that absolute time is indicative of the ETA no matter when themessage is transmitted and received.

FIG. 8 illustrates a graphical representation of an ETA and ETP ofvehicles A and D. As shown, vehicle D's ETA is the amount of time ittakes for vehicle D to reach the intersection, without entering theintersection. As described above, in some aspects, the ETA may beannounced in absolute time, in which case the ETA indicates the timewhen vehicle D reaches the intersection, without entering it. VehicleD's ETP, on the other hand, is the amount of time it takes vehicle D toexit the intersection. In absolute time, in some aspects, vehicle D'sETP may indicate a time when vehicle D exits the intersection (e.g., theearliest time at which vehicle D has exited the intersection). In otheraspects, vehicle D's ETP may indicate the earliest time at which vehicleD passes the middle of the intersection. FIG. 8 also shows vehicle A'sETP, which indicates a time it takes vehicle A to exit the intersectionfrom where it is shown to be on the map. In absolute time, in someaspects, vehicle A's ETP may indicate the earliest time at which vehicleA has exited the intersection. In other aspects, vehicle D's ETP mayindicate the earliest time at which vehicle A passes the middle of theintersection.

In some aspects, to determine the earliest possible timing for enteringthe intersection, a vehicle may use another vehicle's ETP that refers toa time when the other vehicle passes the middle of the intersection. Forexample, in FIG. 8, vehicle D may use vehicle A's ETP to determine anappropriate time for entering the intersection. In such an example,vehicle D may use an ETP of vehicle A that refers to when vehicle Afirst passes the entire intersection (e.g., ETP-A shown in FIG. 8).However, this ETP may not enable vehicle D to determine the earliestpossible timing for entering the intersection, as vehicle D maypotentially enter the intersection once vehicle A passes the middle ofthe intersection. Accordingly, to determine the earliest possible timingfor entering the intersection, vehicle D may use an ETP of vehicle Athat refers to when vehicle A first passes the middle of theintersection.

In some aspects, each vehicle that is approaching an intersection may beallowed to adjust its ETA/ETP until the vehicle is declared. Adeclaration refers to an announcement or a broadcast by a V2X vehiclethat certifies the ETA/ETP of the vehicle. Once a vehicle certifies itsETA/ETP, in some aspects, it may no longer alter them. In some aspects,a V2X vehicle may track “anchor” vehicles that are approaching theintersection from other lanes. From the perspective of a V2X vehicleapproaching an intersection, an anchor vehicle refers to a vehicle whoseETA is earlier or shorter than the ETA of the V2X vehicle. In addition,an anchor vehicle may be the closest to the intersection in comparisonto all the other vehicles in the same lane. The V2X vehicle may declareits ETA/ETP only after all the anchor vehicles have declared theirETA/ETP. At each intersection, a V2X vehicle may identify one or moreanchor vehicles, as described with respect to FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 illustrates a number of anchor vehicles from the perspective ofvehicle A. In FIG. 9, vehicles H, E, G, and F may be V2X vehicles. Forexample, vehicle H is a front anchor of vehicle A because vehicle H'sETA is earlier than the ETA of vehicle A with respect to theintersection and vehicle H is traveling in front of vehicle A. Inaddition, vehicle A may identify vehicle E as its left-hand anchorbecause the ETA of vehicle E is earlier than the ETA of vehicle A andvehicle E is approaching from the left hand side of vehicle A. Vehicle Amay also determine that the ETA of vehicle F is later than vehicle A'sETA so it is not an anchor. In other words, vehicle A can pass theintersection after vehicle E but ahead of vehicle F. Vehicle A may alsoidentify vehicle G as its right-hand anchor because the ETA of vehicle Gis earlier than the ETA of vehicle A and vehicle G is approaching fromthe right hand side of vehicle A.

In some aspects, after anchor vehicles H, G, and E declare theirETAs/ETPs, vehicle A is able to determine its own ETA/ETP by taking intoaccount all anchor vehicles and their trajectories. For example, basedon vehicle H's ETA and identifying vehicle H as an anchor, vehicle A mayadjust its ETA such that there is at least a minimal time gap betweenthe ETA of vehicle H and the ETA of vehicle A. This allows other anchorvehicles to pass the intersection after vehicle H but before vehicle A.In some aspects, how long this time gap is depends on vehicle A'sassessment of the number of vehicles that may pass after vehicle H butbefore vehicle A. For example, the time gap may be long enough to allowvehicles E and G to pass in between vehicles A and H. In such anexample, vehicle A may adapt its driving so the ETA of vehicle A is atleast later than the ETP of vehicles E and G.

In some aspects, one or more of the anchor vehicles H, G, and E may notdeclare themselves, in which case vehicle A may default to stopping atthe intersection instead of adjusting its ETA such that it can pass theintersection without stopping.

As described above, in some scenarios, in addition to V2X vehiclesapproaching an intersection, there may be one or more unknown vehiclesapproaching the intersection as well. As a result, in addition toinformation about the ETA/ETP of the V2X vehicles approaching theintersection (e.g., including anchor V2X vehicles), a V2X vehicle maydetermine its ETA/ETP based on surrounding information received from oneor more of those V2X vehicles relating to the one or more unknownvehicles.

FIG. 10 illustrates V2X vehicles A, N, and M and non-V2X vehicle O. FIG.10 shows detection range 1002 of vehicle N and detection range 1004 ofvehicle M. Within detection range 1002, vehicle N is able to detect anunknown vehicle using one or more sensors as discussed. In certainaspects, a detection range is directional. In certain aspects, adetection range is non-directional and indicates the length of theradius within which a vehicle is able to detect unknown vehicles. Inother words, although FIG. 10 shows a detection range 1002 on the leftside of vehicle N (e.g., in front of it), vehicle N may be able todetect vehicles on its right side (e.g., behind it) within the samedetection range as well. FIG. 10 also illustrates detection range 1004of vehicle M.

Because vehicle A may not be able to detect or observe an unknownvehicle approaching the intersection from the left inbound lane 1006,vehicles N and M may be configured to broadcast surrounding informationto vehicle A, which may include an indication about whether an unknownvehicle can be detected within their detection range. However, if anarea is not covered by the detection range of any V2X vehicles and isalso not detectable by vehicle A, the area is a blind area of vehicle A.An example of such an area is shown in FIG. 10 as blind area 1008. Blindarea 1008 of vehicle A refers to an area that vehicle A is not able todetect and is not within the detection range of any other V2X vehiclescommunicating with vehicle A, such as vehicle N and B. As a result, ifan unknown vehicle, such as vehicle O, is in blind area 1008, it may notbe detected by vehicles N and M. Vehicle A would, therefore, not benotified about vehicle O.

In the inbound or outbound lanes of a certain direction, there may beone or multiple potential blind areas, from vehicle A's perspective.This is because the surrounding information provided by other V2Xvehicles as well as sensory information provided by vehicle A itself maynot be able to cover the inbound and outbound lanes continuously. Insome aspects, a vehicle's sensor detection range may vary (e.g., cameraview blocked by a vehicle or another entity such as traffic signs) inthe same or opposite driving direction. In some aspects, vehicle A mayutilize certain techniques to determine the validity of an initialdetermination that a certain area is a blind area. For example, anyblind area shorter/smaller than the length of a normal vehicle may notcontain an “unknown” vehicle. Therefore, such an area is actually notblind, but clear.

In some aspects, a blind area (e.g., blind area 1008) may grow with amaximum speed (e.g., maximum speed of an unknown vehicle, such as 25m/s). For example, even if vehicle N, while travelling on the outboundlane, loses communication with vehicle A, blind area 1008 of vehicle Amay not include the entire roadway on the left side up until theintersection. More specifically, prior to vehicle A losing communicationwith vehicle N, vehicle A may definitively assume that there are nounknown vehicles within detection range 1002 of vehicle N. This isbecause, if an unknown vehicle were traveling in detection range 1002,vehicle N would have notified vehicle A about it. When vehicle Neventually loses communication with vehicle A, vehicle A can assume thatblind area 1008 may expand toward the intersection at a maximum speed.This is because, even assuming an unknown vehicle, such as vehicle O, isright outside of the detection range of vehicle N when vehicle N losescommunication with vehicle A, vehicle O may only travel at the maximumspeed towards the intersection. As a result, vehicle A may assume thatthere is a certain amount of time (t) left for vehicle A to pass theintersection until a potential unknown vehicle reaches the intersection.The amount of time (t), for example, equals the distance (e.g., distanceZ) between where vehicle N′s detection range ended (e.g., location X)when vehicle N lost communication with vehicle A and the intersectiondivided by the maximum speed.

In some aspects, blind area 1008 may be reduced based on a new V2X carwith a detection range that overlaps with blind area 1008 communicatingwith vehicle A. For example, another V2X vehicle may take vehicle N'splace after a few seconds, in which case, the V2X vehicle may detect anyunknown vehicles in its detection range and notify vehicle A about it.

FIG. 11 illustrates example operations 1100 performed by a first vehicletraveling on a first path (e.g., street), according to aspects of thepresent disclosure.

Operations 1100 begin, at 1102, by receiving, at the first vehicle, anindication from a second vehicle comprising surrounding information thatis indicative of whether a first unknown vehicle is detected by thesecond vehicle, wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle areable to communicate wirelessly, and wherein the first unknown vehicle isunable to communicate wirelessly with the first and the second vehicles.In certain aspects, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are V2Xvehicles while the first unknown vehicle is a non-V2X vehicle. Incertain aspects, the surrounding information indicates whether the firstunknown vehicle is detected by the second vehicle within a detectionrange of the second vehicle.

In some aspects, the indication may also include information about thesecond vehicle itself, such as the location, direction, lane, and speedof the second vehicle itself. In some aspects, the indication itself mayinclude the second vehicle's ETA/ETP.

At 1104, the first vehicle controls movement of the first vehicle basedon the indication.

Example of Second Vehicle not Indicating Existence of an Unknown Vehicle

As described, in some aspects, the surrounding information received fromthe second vehicle may only indicate whether an unknown vehicle isdetected by the second vehicle or not. If the surrounding informationindicates that no unknown vehicle is detected by the second vehicle, insome aspects, the first vehicle may consider the detection range of thesecond vehicle and determine an ETA of a hypothetical unknown vehicle ina blind area of the first vehicle (e.g., area that is not visible to thefirst vehicle and is outside the detection range of the second vehicle)at the intersection.

An example of this is shown in FIG. 12, where vehicles A and H are V2Xvehicles and vehicle G is a non-V2X vehicle. As shown, vehicle H (e.g.,second vehicle) may transmit surrounding information to vehicle A (e.g.,first vehicle) indicating that there is no unknown vehicle (e.g., firstunknown vehicle) detected within the detection range 1202 of vehicle H.However, as vehicle H drives away from the intersection, blind area 1210of vehicle A expands towards the intersection. In addition, at somepoint in time, vehicle H may lose communication with vehicle A, in whichcase vehicles A and H may no longer be able to communicate. For example,after reaching location Y, vehicle H may lose communication with vehicleA. In such an example, the last indication received by vehicle Aincludes surrounding information indicating that there are no unknownvehicles within detection range 1202 of vehicle H, which covers an areaup to location X. However, although the surrounding information does notindicate the existence of an unknown vehicle within detection range1202, it may still not be safe for vehicle A to pass the intersectionwithout stopping because a vehicle, such as vehicle G (e.g., firstunknown vehicle), may be right outside of vehicle H's detection range1202 and approaching the intersection.

Accordingly, based on the surrounding information, vehicle A may beconfigured to calculate when a hypothetical unknown vehicle, such asvehicle G, may reach the intersection. For example, vehicle A may assumethat there is an unknown vehicle (e.g., vehicle G) at approximatelylocation X, and calculate a time t corresponding to the length of timeit may take for the unknown vehicle to reach the intersection, in theworst case scenario. For example, vehicle A may assume that an unknownvehicle may travel at a certain maximum speed (e.g., 25 m/s) andcalculate t by dividing distance Z (distance between location X and theintersection) by the maximum speed. Time t may correspond to ahypothetical unknown vehicle's ETA at the intersection. In addition toan ETA, vehicle A may also calculate an ETP for the unknown vehicle. Incertain aspects, when calculating the ETA and ETP of the hypotheticalunknown vehicle, an assumption that the hypothetical unknown vehiclewill stop at the intersection may also be taken into account.

In some aspects, the first vehicle may calculate its trajectory, atleast in part, based on the ETA of a hypothetical unknown vehicle. Forexample, based on the calculation described above, if the first vehicledetermines that its ETA/ETP may potentially overlap with the ETA/ETP ofthe hypothetical unknown vehicle, the first vehicle may determine tostop at the intersection. In addition to considering the ETA of ahypothetical unknown vehicle, the first vehicle may also calculate itstrajectory based on the ETA of any other vehicle approaching theintersection.

For example, in the case of FIG. 7, a second vehicle (e.g., vehicle B)is itself approaching the intersection. In such an example, the secondvehicle may declare its ETA and ETP to a first vehicle (e.g., vehicle A)in relation to the intersection. Accordingly, the first vehicle maycoordinate its trajectory not only based on the ETA of a hypotheticalunknown vehicle but also the ETA/ETP of the second vehicle as well asETA/ETP of any other vehicles approaching the intersection andcommunicating with the first vehicle. In other words, the first vehiclemay not need to stop at the intersection as long as it can coordinateits ETA/ETP with the ETA of a hypothetical unknown vehicle, the ETA/ETPof the second vehicle, and the ETA(s)/ETP(s) of one or more othervehicles (e.g., V2X vehicles) approaching the intersection, if any.

In some aspects, if the second vehicle is approaching the intersection,the first vehicle may arrange its ETA to be within a short timethreshold of (e.g., immediately after) the second vehicle's ETP. Forexample, the first vehicle may arrange its ETA to be within less than afew seconds (e.g., less than 1 or 2 seconds) of the second vehicle'sETP.

More specifically, the first vehicle may first determine the secondvehicle's declared ETA/ETP in relation to the intersection based on anindication transmitted by the second vehicle. The first vehicle may thencompare its own ETA with the second vehicle's ETA. Subsequently, thefirst vehicle may determine that the second vehicle is an anchor vehiclebased on determining that the second vehicle's ETA is less than orearlier than the first vehicle's ETA. After determining that the secondvehicle is an anchor, the first vehicle may then arrange its ETA to beimmediately after the ETP of the second vehicle.

Keeping a very close distance with the second vehicle is advantageousfor the first vehicle because it results in the first vehicle and thesecond vehicle remaining in each other's communication range for alonger period of time, which increases safety by helping ensure that thefirst vehicle is notified by the second vehicle if an unknown vehicle isdetected by the second vehicle. In addition, maintaining a closedistance with the second vehicle increases the likelihood of the firstvehicle passing the intersection without a stop. This is because if thefirst and the second vehicles are very far from each other and anunknown vehicle enters the detection range of the second vehicle, thefirst vehicle has less time to pass the intersection without stoppingthan if the first vehicle and the second vehicle are very close to eachother.

In some aspects, if the first vehicle detects an unknown vehicle (e.g.,second unknown vehicle) that is traveling behind the first vehicle, thefirst vehicle may reduce its own speed to allow the second vehicle topass the intersection without stopping, before the first vehicle passesthe intersection. This is because the second vehicle may not be able todetect the second unknown vehicle traveling behind the first vehicle. Asa result, if the first vehicle passes the intersection quickly, thesecond vehicle may be forced to stop at the intersection because it isnot able to determine whether there is an unknown vehicle in its blindarea or not.

Example of Second Vehicle Indicating Existence of an Unknown Vehicle

In some situations, the surrounding information received from the secondvehicle indicates the existence of an unknown vehicle. In the example ofFIG. 7, vehicle B may send surrounding information to vehicle Aindicating the existence of vehicle C that is traveling in an inboundlane towards intersection 702. If the surrounding information receivedfrom vehicle B only indicates the existence of vehicle C, vehicle A maydetermine to stop. This is because if vehicle A is not aware of vehicleC's location and speed, vehicle A is not able to determine when vehicleC may reach intersection 702. As a result, vehicle A may determine tostop at intersection 702 to avoid a potential collision.

In some aspects, after initially determining to stop, vehicle A maydetermine that it is safe to pass the intersection without stopping. Forexample, after initially determining to stop, vehicle A may observevehicle C passing the intersection, in which case, vehicle A maydetermine that the collision threat has disappeared. As a result,vehicle A may reevaluate its determination to stop at the intersection.For example, having determined that vehicle C has passed theintersection, if vehicle A is not notified about any other unknownvehicles, it may pass the intersection without stopping, provided thatvehicle A coordinates its ETA/ETP with other vehicles (e.g., vehicle Band others). When vehicle A determinates not to pass the intersection,it may declare the determination to other vehicles.

In addition, in some aspects, after initially determining to stop,vehicle A's blind area may shrink as it approaches the intersection, andeventually be eliminated because of vehicle A's proximity to theintersection. In such aspects, vehicle A may itself be able to determineif there are any unknown vehicles approaching the intersection. In thatcase, if vehicle A does not detect any unknown vehicles, vehicle A mayproceed to pass the intersection without stopping, provided that vehicleA coordinates its ETA/ETP with other vehicles (e.g., vehicle B andothers). When vehicle A determinates not to pass the intersection is, itmay declare the determination to other vehicles.

In some aspects, instead of only indicating the existence of vehicle C,the surrounding information may also indicate the location and speed ofvehicle C. In such aspects, vehicle A may use the location and speed ofvehicle C to determine vehicle C's ETA and ETP, based on which vehicle Amay control its own movement. In other aspects, the surroundinginformation itself may indicate vehicle C's ETA and ETP. Vehicle A maydetermine whether to stop at intersection 702 based on the ETA/ETP ofvehicle C as well as the ETA/ETP of vehicle B, assuming vehicle B hasdeclared its ETA/ETP. If, considering the ETA/ETP of vehicle C andvehicle B, vehicle A is not able to adapt its driving to pass theintersection without stopping, then vehicle A may determine to stop. Forexample, if vehicle C's ETA and ETP are earlier than vehicle A's ETA andETP, vehicle A may determine to stop because vehicle A may not be ableto determine how long vehicle C may stop at the intersection once itreaches the intersection. Accordingly, it may be unsafe for vehicle A inthis situation to declare its ETA/ETP and pass the intersection withoutstopping.

As described above, vehicle A may later determine that it is safe topass the intersection without stopping if the threat of collision withvehicle C is eliminated (e.g., because vehicle A observes vehicle C passthe intersection) or if vehicle A's blind area disappears and vehicle Aobserves no collision threats.

If, based on the ETA/ETP of vehicle C, vehicle A determines that it cansafely pass the intersection without stopping, vehicle A may declarethis determination, provided vehicle A does not have to stop based onthe declared ETA/ETP of vehicle B or other vehicles.

As described above, in some aspects, the first vehicle (e.g., vehicle A)may arrange its ETA to be within a short time threshold of (e.g.,immediately after) the second vehicle's (e.g., vehicle B) ETP. This isadvantageous for the first vehicle in situations where an unknownvehicle is detected by the second vehicle. Also as described above, insome aspects, if the first vehicle detects an unknown vehicle that istraveling behind the first vehicle, the first vehicle may reduce its ownspeed to allow the second vehicle to pass the intersection withoutstopping before the first vehicle passes the intersection.

In some aspects, the first vehicle may receive indications, from one ormore other vehicle, including the second vehicle, which may indicate acombination of the scenarios above. For example, the second vehicle mayindicate that an unknown vehicle is not detected within its detectionrange while another vehicle may indicate that an unknown vehicle isdetected within its detection range. In such aspects, the first vehiclemay control its movement by performing a combination of the one or moreaspects described above.

FIG. 13 illustrates a wireless communications device 1300 (i.e., firstvehicle) that may include various components (e.g., corresponding tomeans-plus-function components) configured to perform operations for thetechniques disclosed herein, such as one or more of the operationsillustrated in FIG. 11. The communications device 1300 includes aprocessing system 1314 coupled to a transceiver 1312. The transceiver1312 is configured to transmit and receive signals for thecommunications device 1300 via an antenna 1313. The processing system1314 may be configured to perform processing functions for thecommunications device 1300, such as processing signals, etc.

The processing system 1314 includes a processor 1309 coupled to acomputer-readable medium/memory 1310 via a bus 1324. In certain aspects,the computer-readable medium/memory 1310 is configured to storeinstructions that when executed by processor 1309, cause the processor1309 to perform one or more of the operations illustrated in FIG. 11, orother operations for performing the various techniques discussed herein.

In certain aspects, the processing system 1314 further includes areceiving component 1320 for performing one or more of the operationsillustrated at 1102 in FIG. 11. Additionally, the processing system 1314includes a controlling component 1322 for performing one or more of theoperations illustrated at 1104 in FIG. 11.

The receiving component 1320 and the controlling component 1322 may becoupled to the processor 1309 via bus 1324. In certain aspects, thereceiving component 1320 and the controlling component 1322 may behardware circuits. In certain aspects, the receiving component 1320 andthe controlling component 1322 may be software components that areexecuted and run on processor 1309.

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions forachieving the methods. The method steps and/or actions may beinterchanged with one another without departing from the scope of theclaims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions isspecified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may bemodified without departing from the scope of the claims.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples ofthe same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b,b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like.Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receiving information),accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,“determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishingand the like.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. All structural andfunctional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects describedthroughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known tothose of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein byreference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover,nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in theclaims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35U.S.C. § 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase“means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recitedusing the phrase “step for.”

The various operations of methods described above may be performed byany suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions.The means may include various hardware and/or software component(s)and/or module(s), including, but not limited to a circuit, anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or processor. Generally,where there are operations illustrated in figures, those operations mayhave corresponding counterpart means-plus-function components withsimilar numbering.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits describedin connection with the present disclosure may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD),discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration maycomprise a processing system in a wireless node. The processing systemmay be implemented with a bus architecture. The bus may include anynumber of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specificapplication of the processing system and the overall design constraints.The bus may link together various circuits including a processor,machine-readable media, and a bus interface. The bus interface may beused to connect a network adapter, among other things, to the processingsystem via the bus. The network adapter may be used to implement thesignal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the case of a userterminal 120 (see FIG. 1), a user interface (e.g., keypad, display,mouse, joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus mayalso link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals,voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which arewell known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further.The processor may be implemented with one or more general-purpose and/orspecial-purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors,microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuitry that can executesoftware. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implementthe described functionality for the processing system depending on theparticular application and the overall design constraints imposed on theoverall system.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmittedover as one or more instructions or code on a computer readable medium.Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, data, or anycombination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.Computer-readable media include both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. The processor may beresponsible for managing the bus and general processing, including theexecution of software modules stored on the machine-readable storagemedia. A computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to a processorsuch that the processor can read information from, and write informationto, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may beintegral to the processor. By way of example, the machine-readable mediamay include a transmission line, a carrier wave modulated by data,and/or a computer readable storage medium with instructions storedthereon separate from the wireless node, all of which may be accessed bythe processor through the bus interface. Alternatively, or in addition,the machine-readable media, or any portion thereof, may be integratedinto the processor, such as the case may be with cache and/or generalregister files. Examples of machine-readable storage media may include,by way of example, RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (ReadOnly Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory), registers, magnetic disks, opticaldisks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage medium, or anycombination thereof. The machine-readable media may be embodied in acomputer-program product.

A software module may comprise a single instruction, or manyinstructions, and may be distributed over several different codesegments, among different programs, and across multiple storage media.The computer-readable media may comprise a number of software modules.The software modules include instructions that, when executed by anapparatus such as a processor, cause the processing system to performvarious functions. The software modules may include a transmissionmodule and a receiving module. Each software module may reside in asingle storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices.By way of example, a software module may be loaded into RAM from a harddrive when a triggering event occurs. During execution of the softwaremodule, the processor may load some of the instructions into cache toincrease access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into ageneral register file for execution by the processor. When referring tothe functionality of a software module below, it will be understood thatsuch functionality is implemented by the processor when executinginstructions from that software module.

Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. Forexample, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or otherremote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared(IR), radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, andmicrowave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, asused herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray® disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Thus, in some aspects computer-readable media maycomprise non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media).In addition, for other aspects computer-readable media may comprisetransitory computer-readable media (e.g., a signal). Combinations of theabove should also be included within the scope of computer-readablemedia.

Thus, certain aspects may comprise a computer program product forperforming the operations presented herein. For example, such a computerprogram product may comprise a computer-readable medium havinginstructions stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions beingexecutable by one or more processors to perform the operations describedherein. For example, instructions for performing the operationsdescribed herein and illustrated in FIG. 11.

Further, it should be appreciated that modules and/or other appropriatemeans for performing the methods and techniques described herein can bedownloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and/or basestation as applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to aserver to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the methodsdescribed herein. Alternatively, various methods described herein can beprovided via storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage mediumsuch as a compact disc (CD) or floppy disk, etc.), such that a userterminal and/or base station can obtain the various methods uponcoupling or providing the storage means to the device. Moreover, anyother suitable technique for providing the methods and techniquesdescribed herein to a device can be utilized.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the preciseconfiguration and components illustrated above. Various modifications,changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the methods and apparatus described above without departingfrom the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communications performed bya first vehicle, comprising: receiving an indication from a secondvehicle comprising surrounding information indicating that a firstunknown vehicle is detected within a detection range of the secondvehicle, wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle are able tocommunicate wirelessly, and wherein the first unknown vehicle is unableto communicate wirelessly with the first and the second vehicles,wherein: the first vehicle is traveling on a first street that crosses asecond street at an intersection, the surrounding information furtherindicates a direction of the first unknown vehicle and a lane from whichthe first unknown vehicle is approaching the intersection, and one of:the surrounding information further comprises a location and a speed ofthe first unknown vehicle and the method further comprises calculatingan estimated time of arrival (ETA) and an estimated time of passing(ETP) of the first unknown vehicle based on the location and the speedof the first unknown vehicle and the detection range of the secondvehicle, or the surrounding information indicates the ETA and the ETP ofthe first unknown vehicle; and controlling movement of the first vehiclebased on the indication.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:designating a blind area of the first vehicle that is not detected bythe first vehicle and is also outside the detection range of the secondvehicle.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: calculating anETA of a hypothetical vehicle traveling in the blind area of the firstvehicle towards the intersection based on the detection range of thesecond vehicle.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein controlling themovement of the first vehicle further comprises controlling the movementof the first vehicle based on the ETA of the hypothetical vehicle. 5.The method of claim 3, wherein the indication further comprises adeclaration of an ETA of the second vehicle and an ETP of the secondvehicle in relation to the intersection, and wherein controlling themovement of the first vehicle further comprises controlling the movementof the first vehicle based on the ETA of the hypothetical vehicle, theETA of the second vehicle, and the ETP of the second vehicle.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein controlling the movement of the first vehiclefurther comprises determining whether to stop at the intersection basedon the ETA of the first unknown vehicle and the ETP of the first unknownvehicle.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the movement ofthe first vehicle further comprises determining to stop at theintersection.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: afterdetermining to stop at the intersection, reevaluating the determining tostop based on an event.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the eventincludes the first vehicle detecting the first unknown vehicle passingthe intersection.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the event includesthe first vehicle detecting the first unknown vehicle.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the indication further comprises a declaration of anETA of the second vehicle and an ETP of the second vehicle in relationto the intersection, the method further comprising: comparing an ETA ofthe first vehicle at the intersection with the ETA of the second vehicleat the intersection; and determining that the second vehicle is ananchor based on the ETA of the second vehicle being earlier than the ETAof the first vehicle.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein controllingthe movement of the first vehicle further comprises adjusting, inresponse to determining the second vehicle is the anchor, a speed of thefirst vehicle to allow the first vehicle to pass the intersectionwithout stopping within a threshold time after the second vehicle passesthe intersection, wherein the adjusting is based on the ETA of thesecond vehicle, the ETP of the second vehicle and the surroundinginformation.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the threshold time ismeasured from the ETP of the second vehicle in relation to theintersection.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein adjusting the speed ofthe first vehicle further comprises: detecting a second unknown vehiclebehind the first vehicle, wherein the first vehicle is not able tocommunicate with the second unknown vehicle; reducing the speed of thefirst vehicle to allow the second vehicle to pass the intersectionwithout stopping before the first vehicle passes the intersectionwithout stopping and before the second unknown vehicle passes theintersection.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the indication isreceived from the second vehicle before the second vehicle approachesthe intersection.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:receiving a second indication after the second vehicle passes theintersection, the second indication comprising a second surroundinginformation that is indicative of whether the first unknown vehicle isdetected by the second vehicle within the detection range of the secondvehicle.
 17. A first vehicle, comprising: a memory; and a processorcoupled to the memory, the processor being configured to: receive anindication from a second vehicle comprising surrounding informationindicating that a first unknown vehicle is detected within a detectionrange of the second vehicle, wherein the first vehicle and the secondvehicle are able to communicate wirelessly, and wherein the firstunknown vehicle is unable to communicate wirelessly with the first andthe second vehicles, wherein: the first vehicle is traveling on a firststreet that crosses a second street at an intersection, the surroundinginformation further indicates a direction of the first unknown vehicleand a lane from which the first unknown vehicle is approaching theintersection, and one of: the surrounding information further comprisesa location and a speed of the first unknown vehicle and the processor isfurther configured to calculate an estimated time of arrival (ETA) andan estimated time of passing (ETP) of the first unknown vehicle based onthe location and the speed of the first unknown vehicle and thedetection range of the second vehicle, or the surrounding informationindicates the ETA and the ETP of the first unknown vehicle; and controlmovement of the first vehicle based on the indication.
 18. The firstvehicle of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to:designate a blind area of the first vehicle that is not detected by thefirst vehicle and is also outside the detection range of the secondvehicle.
 19. The first vehicle of claim 18, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: calculate an ETA of a hypothetical vehicletraveling in the blind area of the first vehicle towards theintersection based on the detection range of the second vehicle.
 20. Thefirst vehicle of claim 19, wherein the processor being configured tocontrol the movement of the first vehicle further comprises theprocessor being configured to control the movement of the first vehiclebased on the ETA of the hypothetical vehicle.
 21. The first vehicle ofclaim 19, wherein the indication further comprises a declaration of anETA of the second vehicle and an ETP of the second vehicle in relationto the intersection, and wherein the processor being configured tocontrol the movement of the first vehicle further comprises theprocessor being configured to control the movement of the first vehiclebased on the ETA of the hypothetical vehicle, the ETA of the secondvehicle, and the ETP of the second vehicle.
 22. The first vehicle ofclaim 17, wherein the processor being configured to cause the firstvehicle to control the movement of the first vehicle comprises theprocessor being configured to determine to stop at the intersection. 23.The first vehicle of claim 17, wherein the indication further comprisesa declaration of an ETA of the second vehicle and an ETP of the secondvehicle in relation to the intersection, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: compare an ETA of the first vehicle at theintersection with the ETA of the second vehicle at the intersection; anddetermine that the second vehicle is an anchor based on the ETA of thesecond vehicle being earlier than the ETA of the first vehicle.
 24. Thefirst vehicle of claim 23, wherein the processor being configured tocontrol the movement of the first vehicle further comprises theprocessor being configured to adjust, in response to determining thesecond vehicle is the anchor, a speed of the first vehicle to allow thefirst vehicle to pass the intersection without stopping within athreshold time after the second vehicle passes the intersection, whereinthe processor being configured to adjust is based on the ETA of thesecond vehicle, the ETP of the second vehicle, and the surroundinginformation.
 25. The first vehicle of claim 24, wherein the thresholdtime is measured from the ETP of the second vehicle in relation to theintersection.
 26. The first vehicle of claim 17, wherein the processorbeing configured to control the movement of the first vehicle furthercomprises the processor being configured to determine whether to stop atthe intersection based on the ETA of the first unknown vehicle and theETP of the first unknown vehicle.
 27. The first vehicle of claim 26,wherein the processor is further configured to reevaluate determining tostop at the intersection based on an event after determining to stop atthe intersection.
 28. The first vehicle of claim 27, wherein the eventincludes detecting the first unknown vehicle passing the intersection.29. The first vehicle of claim 27, wherein the event includes detectingthe first unknown vehicle.
 30. A first vehicle comprising: means forreceiving an indication from a second vehicle comprising surroundinginformation indicating that a first unknown vehicle is detected within adetection range of the second vehicle, wherein the first vehicle and thesecond vehicle are able to communicate wirelessly, and wherein the firstunknown vehicle is unable to communicate wirelessly with the first andthe second vehicles, wherein: the first vehicle is traveling on a firststreet that crosses a second street at an intersection, the surroundinginformation further indicates a direction of the first unknown vehicleand a lane from which the first unknown vehicle is approaching theintersection, and one of: the surrounding information further comprisesa location and a speed of the first unknown vehicle and the firstvehicle further comprises means for calculating an estimated time ofarrival (ETA) and an estimated time of passing (ETP) of the firstunknown vehicle based on the location and the speed of the first unknownvehicle and the detection range of the second vehicle, or thesurrounding information indicates the ETA and the ETP of the firstunknown vehicle; and means for controlling movement of the first vehiclebased on the indication.